Spiritism was presented to us by the Spirit world so we here on earth may perfect ourselves and prepare the earth to reach a higher plane of existence. Using Spiritism, we are expected to improve our collective behavior. Spiritism was brought to us via the work of Allan Kardec. In 1857, in response to the growing interest in spirits and mediums, Allan Kardec (pen name of the French teacher and educator Hippolyte Léon Denizard Rivail) organized a series of questions designed to discern the exact nature and wishes of the spirits. He did not accept information from just one medium, but verified the response to a question from multiple mediums throughout Europe. Allan Kardec wrote a total of five books documenting the answers to his questions. The basic tenants of Spiritism are:

1. Love God.
2. Do unto others as you would have others do unto you.
3. Practice justice.
4. Forgive all who offend you.
5. Make amends for our own wrong doing.

The spirits revealed to us the basic facts of our existence:

1. Your soul is immortal.
2. You travel through multiple lives as a process to learn to love, be fraternal, and be selfless.
3. The goal of God is for every spirit to one day be pure.
4. There is no eternal hell, it is a station for souls who are materialistic and have an excessive love of self.
5. There are many levels of heaven. Heaven is not a place where we have eternal leisure, but one of on-going work to help others.
6. Life on earth is like a school. You are assigned events in your life and how you react and behave will determine your spiritual progress.

In the 1930’s in Brazil, the medium Chico Xavier began psychographing (the process of a medium writing under the direction of a spirit) messages and books sent by spirits. From the very beginning he was told to always follow the doctrines of Allan Kardec. Chico wrote more than 400 books by the time of his death in 2002. Within these books, the Spirits revealed information about Allan Kardec and the Spirit world’s plan for our future;

1. When Jesus referred to the “Great Consoler”, he was foretelling the arrival of Allan Kardec.
2. For the earth to progress, the human race needs to understand that every action they do here on earth will have consequences in their next life.
3. The Bible was written by men under the influence of their beliefs and culture at their time. While the central spiritual message of love is eternal, the stories of the Bible, such as the Earth being made in 6 days are allegories and not meant to be taken literally.
4. We are being told this now because the human race is culturally and technically advanced to be able to accept these messages.
5. Spiritism is not meant to replace religions, but to supplement them with the knowledge of the basic doctrine of reincarnation and its purpose.
6. The spreading and acceptance of Spiritism will enable to world to begin a new age, where war is a thing of the past.
7. The Spirit world has planned these events and is guiding the earth through subtle interventions.
8. At some time in the future, science will definitely prove the existence of a soul and an afterlife.

As one can see, the truths found during NDE's have also been delivered to us via an alternative channel. That of the Spirit world communicating directly to mediums to alert us of a life beyond our single human existence. While all around us people who have psychic abilities or those who had NDE experiences are reporting the same philosophy of love and redemption through trials.

I read some of Karedec's stuff. It's sort of interesting. The Bible believers often say that contacting the dead is a big no no, a sin, but I'm not so sure. The bible was written by people, and edited by people, so I'm not sure about every detail of the stuff it forbids.

I would be more concerned about getting some negative spirit masquerading as a good one, relative, or as a guide.

Yes, there is a possibility of contacting a spirit who is trying to masquerade as a good spirit. Allan Kardec covers this in the Spirits Book and the Book of Mediums. A bad spirit will quickly reveal itself by giving bad, or morally wrong advice or be sarcastic in their advice.

To read about good spirits and their work, you could try the books by Chico Xavier, who wrote true occurrences by the spirit Andre Luiz. His first book is Nossa Lar and it is available in English. Also the book The Messengers is excellent too.

I read some books of Jane Roberts, a medium and her spirit guide Seth. The books apparently had been dictated by Seth through her, as a medium. Still it is difficult to know if the messages came through her or of her.
The books are interesting in the way, that they are more in the line of what NDErs tell us. That we are always continuing to grow. That death is not existing and that love is important. That our life here has a meaning etc...

It seems that the message of life after death has been a constant one from a large group of mediums. Like Edgar Cayce and others. I would like to point out that Chico, who wrote over 400 books, never profited but gave all to charity. So if he was trying to just make money he wasn't very successful. Also, there is a book by Swedenberg, written in the 17th century that sends the same message as Kardec and others. To realize that all of this is true is very freeing. My daily attitude is much improve and I accept adversity better than before.

bfoster5705 wrote:Yes, there is a possibility of contacting a spirit who is trying to masquerade as a good spirit. Allan Kardec covers this in the Spirits Book and the Book of Mediums. A bad spirit will quickly reveal itself by giving bad, or morally wrong advice or be sarcastic in their advice.

I heard that sometimes they string you along by appearing very good a loving for a while, and then turn on you.

I heard that a book:The Siren Call of Hungry Ghosts: A Riveting Investigation Into Channeling and Spirit Guides
chronicles about deceptive spirits

You listed a long list of points in your post above, and you know what's amazing? I agree with almost every one!
I really want to talk to you more about this stuff.
What Kardec teaches -is what life and NDEs have taught me.

I'm not sure about Jesus predicting Kardec as a Great Consoler. That sounds like typical figurehead framing, but I could be incorrect. I'd have to read more about whether people are over-deifying Kardec, or not.

Have you done spiritist experiments?It's cool you are here and posted those points!

I am excited you have confirmation on your views with Spiritism. I think that is how lots of people first learn about it, they search for what they believe is true, then find that Spiritism gives context to it. Which makes sense, after all the knowledge is already present inside us. As far as Allan Kardec is , yes you are right, we don't want to put him on too high of a pedestal. I am sure, if he was alive today, he would say the same. He organized and brought forth the teachings of the spirits and for that he did a great task.

I will put a contact on my blog www.nwspiritism.com, so you and others can reach me. I would be happy to talk to you. If you look up the US Spiritist site, you will find a list of Spiritist centers in the US.

I am a member of a Spiritist group in Seattle. We are reading and learning as we go. We are preparing those of us (not me, I have no talent with this) who have the gift to start communicating with the Spirits. My wife has had some experiences, so I am living through her. The best way to discover this is too find a Spiritist group in your city. Visit them and determine if you are interested.

The interesting thing in the Spiritist literature is the fact that people who charge for their communications with the Spirit world will lose contact with the good spirits and will only be able to communicate with the lesser spirits.

I just translated a text from Wellesley Temple Pole. It seems that he got information from a deceased soldier in 1917. It appears that he got the information through automatic writing. The text can be read at the archives of nderf.org, was submitted 8/5/03, and is called 'Private Dowding'. It might be of interest for you.

That was a great article, I was amazed on how close to everything he said corresponded to Spiritism. His description of hell is just like the description in the book "Liberation", by Francisco C. Xavier, dictated by the Spirit Andre Luiz. It was a frightening book about Andre's journey into the regions of hell. Again, Spiritism, people who are in hell are there because of their own thoughts and they become the monsters they appear because of there own perception.

Then when he talked about a prophet of the most high, he was speaking about Allan Kardec. the future he talks about is the transformation of our planet of one of expiation and atonement for our past wrongs to a Regenerative planet, where wars , hate, envy, pride are a thing of the past. The progression of worlds is explained in "The Gospel According to Spiritism".

The best book would actually be 2 books. The first would be Allan Kardec's "The Spirits Book", which can be found as a pdf or at Amazon.com. The links to the pdf's can be found at the links section at http://www.nwspiritism.com This book will take you through the original foundation of Spiritism.

From the point of view of a sprit, I would recommend reading "Nossa Lar", you can open amazon, and search for Nossa Lar. Buy the Nov 2006 version in Amazon.com and it is in English. It is the story of Andre Luiz, who died, stayed awhile in the "umbra" the area between earth and heaven and how he went to the celestial city "Nossa Lar", above Rio De Janeiro.

You can also search Youtube, there is a movie made in Brazil about this book, it is in Portuguese, but with English subtitles.

Until you wrote his name here I had not heard of Allan Kardec before
Could you tell me where in the New Testament Jesus refers to 'the Great Consoler'?

Point 8. At some time in the future, science will definitely prove the existence of a soul and an afterlife.

Regarding point 8, I think science has already proven the existence of a soul and afterlife. Quantum Physics not only allows for it, it ensures it. Most Physicists are agnostics or atheists - the blatant truth of quantum physics has been described as the elephant in their room which they chose to ignore.

The passages about the Consoler (also called Counselor, Advocate - depending on the translation) is in John 14: 15-17 and 26.

I totally agree with you about science, although I can't say that is true until there is a general consensus. When you read the spirits book and notice the parts that tell about "vibrations" as being part of the make-up of the Spirit realm reminds me of string theory, with its description of the matter being vibrations, plus in string theory there are multiple dimensions. Which could explain much about our dimension living alongside other realms.

I started reading the Spirits Book. The philosophy is good, but I do not like how it was written. It is written in a 19th century windbag style. For example, like 10 pages just to say Kardec was a nice, educated guy.

Do you know of any books that compress Spiritist ideas into a more readable format? I can tell you which translation I am reading if that will help.

Maybe a website that simply states more about spiritism without belaboring every point ad absurdum exists?

Again, I find the principle VERY interesting. It's a pity about the version I am reading.

A good book to read is Nossa Lar - you can find it in English in Amazon, also the whole movie is on YouTube with captions. Another book is "The Gospel According to Spiritism - For young adults and beginners" by Laura Bergallo. We review one chapter at a fanily get together one night a week, for about 30 minutes.

Hello everyone. I'm sorry it's been a while. The reason for that is because for quite some time I was mainly focused on Spiritism. For a while it seemed to provide evidence and answers for life after death, but after talking with my father I started having doubts. He said that he believes in the values but he also said that the simper it is, the more likely it is to be true; for example, he doesn't believe in the five levels of inhabited planets in the universe. I'm a bit confused right now. This is where I need help.

jacobsings wrote:Hello everyone. I'm sorry it's been a while. The reason for that is because for quite some time I was mainly focused on Spiritism. For a while it seemed to provide evidence and answers for life after death, but after talking with my father I started having doubts. He said that he believes in the values but he also said that the simper it is, the more likely it is to be true; for example, he doesn't believe in the five levels of inhabited planets in the universe. I'm a bit confused right now. This is where I need help.

I don't know much about spiritism, but I don't think any one religion has it all figured out, and that's OK.

Maybe you'd be more comfortable with looking at the scientific evidence for things like mediumship? Julie Beischel's work with mediums at the Windbridge Institute is certainly worth considering.

I feel that I need to add my 2 cents here.
I have read all the Allan Kardec books and I trained as a pastor in a mainstream / liberal protestant setting.
Spiritism I find quite intriguing, but I agree with Allan Kardec on this; "Spiritism is superflous" (Don't know where he wrote that, but its there). To that end I prefer to try and enlighten those around me from where I stand. Just personal preference, not to knock on the very many sincere people out there who identify with spiritism / spiritualism (Kardecian or otherwise).

I don't believe Jesus could possibly have been referring exclusively to Chico Xavier when he spoke of sending the Comforter, the Teacher, the Healer. These are functions of the Holy Spirit (and thus of God). The Holy Spirit has manifested and will manifest through people of all times since the original Christian Pentecost.
Jesus spoke of spiritual manifestations which should not be limited to any particular individual. This would imply that he broke his promise to 'not leave you orphaned' until the advent of Chico Xavier.

I am firmly convinced that Chico Xavier was a saint. His level of self sacrifice to his neighbor is unprecedented, however he was just a man, albeit a great man. He truly understood that to be the greatest in the kingdom of God means to be the least among men. I don't think people should deify him this way though, its not good because it creates a distance between 'ordinary' folk and these newly minted 'demi-gods'. This will make people believe it was some divine special sauce that allows these people to achieve greatness in stead of understanding that we can all be Chico if we set aside our Ego.
I don't mean we should all be mediums, but we should all strive to serve others.

I agree Chico is the closest person we have to a saint in my lifetime (Mother Theresa comes to mind also). Spiritism states that the consoler or comforter was the Spirit of Truth, who helped Allan Kardec receive the messages from different high spirits. Allan Kardec is the codifier of Spiritism. Chico is one of the more recent mediums who has presented information from the spirit world to us, so we incarnates may learn the correct path to follow.

Spiritism is not static, it will grow as more is revealed to us. Also, Spiritism is not meant to be a religion, but to present principles that other religions will eventually follow, such as the fact of reincarnation, need for atonement of wrongs in past lives, etc.

I had this dream that I remember when I was an infant where I was laying down and cuddling with an ape that I think may resemble my mother. Just the other night I had an epiphany asking myself if this could poshsibly be a fragment of a distant memory of a past life in a primitive world and if she was the same spirit who was my mother in that life as the one who was my mother in this life.

One concern I have for infant children is that when I don't know weather to feel happy for them or to pity them for being born into this world because of the state of our planet. Another concern I have is that I don't know the origin of spirits or souls and why new souls are being made at different times. It's like bringing a child into the world with a family that already has a lot of kids and the reality that they will have to go through all this schooling and discipline and get all of their needs met! Making a new souls seems very similar because they have to start out on these primitive worlds and work their way up. There's a lot of suffering that they're having to be put through! Why can't they either just be created at the same time or come to a point where there are enough souls as it is because there is just so much suffering that goes into creating a new soul! I understand that it's out of love and letting them figure out the true meaning of happiness, but there is just so much that goes into it!

These are all things that I have pondered as I'm sure there is more! I thought that this would be a good starting point.

I see that the suffix "ism" is a belief in something, "ology" is the study of something, and "ography" is the writing of something. I would feel more comfortable with the idea of spirit ology or spirit ography as it would seem more valid, but I guess for now the best that we have is spiritism which is probably valid enough because of the amount of evidence there is for it and the similarities of near death experiences that people have, and even past life regressions.

jacobsings wrote:I see that the suffix "ism" is a belief in something, "ology" is the study of something, and "ography" is the writing of something. I would feel more comfortable with the idea of spirit ology or spirit ography as it would seem more valid, but I guess for now the best that we have is spiritism which is probably valid enough because of the amount of evidence there is for it and the similarities of near death experiences that people have, and even past life regressions.

Thanks for bringing up this thread again, Jacob.

Regarding religions, as far as I am aware, there are many dangerous world movements, even criminal organisations such as the mafia, for instance, which use religious connotations and ceremonies to make their adepts feel confident that they are doing the right thing.

Living in Europe, my understanding on this topic comes from The British Spiritualists' National Union (http://www.snu.org.uk/spiritualism/spiritualism.html), which is a registered religious body, and when I first started reading their education material, back in the ‘90s, they defined Spiritualism as a philosophy, a science and a religion. What most attracted me was their stated purpose to offer evidence of

The Continuous Existence of the Human Soul.
Spirit is part of the ‘Creative Force’ and thus indestructible. Energy cannot be destroyed; it can only change its form. After death the physical body is left behind whilst the soul continues to exist in a different dimension that we call the spirit world. The individual personality continues unchanged by the event we call ‘death’.

However, when it comes to setting their seven principles, one of which I have just quoted (http://www.snu.org.uk/spiritualism/principles), they unavoidably have to comply with cultural influences, such traditional stereotypes of gender roles (the “Fatherhood of God”) and take a position in respect to other religions (with Christians, for instance, they disagree with the notion of “vicarious atonement” and, within SNU, Spiritualists are discouraged from wearing crosses).

The key notion I have gathered over the years, by reading NDE accounts, but also through personal experience and at my own expense, is that no divine source could possibly discriminate or devaluate a human being on the basis of gender and/or heart-felt beliefs, and whatever name I give to my ever-changing life philosophy, it will not change the fact that unconditional love and refraining from judgement is the key: in fact I can see it on a daily basis that the absence of love and judgemental approaches keep being self-defeating.

This of course does not involve condoning criminal behaviour, but knowing that I always have a way of choosing peace instead of conflict, as difficult and challenging as it may prove.

I suspect that NDEs or other mystical experiences, including mediumship, have been at the source of many world religions, or departure from such.

I have also always felt, based on what is left of Jesus’ teachings, that the Comforter is the Holy Spirit, and that world religions are not only a cause for wars, but above all an opportunity for tolerance, love and acceptance.

A question I often ask myself is, "if we are here to learn and evolve, then from an historical perspective, what does the evidence show ?

(If Jesus were to return and retrace his steps, would the result be different?)

What was it Will Rogers said?

"You can’t say civilization isn’t advancing; in every war, they kill you in a new way."

Until further notice, for me, Nancy Evans Bush said it best in her Mar 2012 C2C interview closing:

"I think that whatever this is, we are engaged in a gigantic mystery which is both beautiful & terrible, sometimes at the same time, and it simply behooves us to do our best with that however we can and with whatever that may mean to us.

Basically, I think if we can learn to be decent to each other, we will have gone a long distance to answering questions of meaning and purpose and maybe even some of the answers hidden on that high shelf."
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"What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the master calls a butterfly." - Richard David Bach

Sounds overwhelming the way you talk about accumulated debt from countless past lives. It scares me as well as it hurts! I also have some concerns about discarnating and being attached to loved ones. I really love my family, especially my wife and I know I will see her again sometime after my time on Earth. I just have some concerns about discarnating depending on who goes first and when that happens because I love my wife so much and she and I made a commitment to each other that we were absolutely positive that we would continue to be the couple that we are for the rest of eternity because we're better together and we help each other grow and improve, and she and I made sure, before we got married, that we wanted to spend the rest our natural lives together. I'm always praying and asking for help from the spirit world to be successful spiritually in any way I can. I also pray for others as well.

jacobsings wrote:Sounds overwhelming the way you talk about accumulated debt from countless past lives. It scares me as well as it hurts! I also have some concerns about discarnating and being attached to loved ones. I really love my family, especially my wife and I know I will see her again sometime after my time on Earth. I just have some concerns about discarnating depending on who goes first and when that happens because I love my wife so much and she and I made a commitment to each other that we were absolutely positive that we would continue to be the couple that we are for the rest of eternity because we're better together and we help each other grow and improve, and she and I made sure, before we got married, that we wanted to spend the rest our natural lives together. I'm always praying and asking for help from the spirit world to be successful spiritually in any way I can. I also pray for others as well.

Hi, Jacobsings. I wish I could somehow reassure you on this topic. I feel our core feelings/principles/beliefs are true and reliable, no matter what label religions or philosophies put on other belief systems.

Personally, I have never believed in accumulated debt from countless past lives. Based on Near-Death Experiences, anything wrong we might have done dissolves at the time of death in the light of complete unconditional and non-judgemental love, which has been compared, by a number of NDErs, to more than the love of all the mothers in the universe put together. How could this overwhelming and unconditional love possibly allow us to be separated from those we love most? Based on my personal experience, the notion of multiple lives is often misunderstood, inasmuch as it is considered as being part of linear time.

Based on this, assuming we have agreed with another soul to live more than just one life, I honestly see no reason for this happening in the past, present or future. Assuming this love-based agreement exists, I see no reason why any multiple life should not simply happen simultaneously. Anita Moorjani also mentions the topic in her NDE account, despite the fact that she was brought up in a culture that instils the belief in multiple lives:

NDERF: In your NDE, you mentioned getting a glimpse of a previous life. Do you believe in reincarnation, and do you think it's because of your Hindu background?

Actually, truth be told, it's because of my Hindu background that I interpreted it that way - as a past life. But in actuality, it felt like everything else I was experiencing in that state. It was all happening simultaneously. So in actual fact, it felt like a parallel life. I also saw my future, and it all felt just as real. Past, present and future. It all felt like it was happening simultaneously.

About parallel lives, I often get that sort of feelings when I think about my dreams in the morning: they feel like experiences of alternative options of my current life, which, if acted upon, can affect all aspects of my life. I hope this makes sense.

So, when you say:

I just have some concerns about discarnating depending on who goes first and when that happens

If there is no linear time, beyond this physical life we are all part of, incarnate and disincarnate, then all I feel could happen, if one goes 'first' is that the one who goes first has greater chances of pursuing your shared project, remind the other one about it, guide, watch over and inspire their partner, until the physical life is over for both. Once again, I hope this makes sense.